Weed side effects | how cannabis affects you

Weed side effects vary from one person to the next. You may feel relaxed or euphoric after using cannabis, while a friend taking the same amount feels sick or anxious. How cannabis affects you depends on how much you take, how strong it is, your general health and how often you use it.

How often you use weed changes the effects

If you only use cannabis occasionally, most of the effects wear off once it is out of your system. Frequent or long-term use can have a greater impact on your physical health, your mental wellbeing and how you get through the day. Cannabis can leave you feeling relaxed, but that same relaxed state can dull your judgement and make anything that needs concentration harder. 

Knowing both the immediate and the long-term effects of cannabis puts you in a better position to decide what you want to do. It can also help you work out whether quitting weed is something you want.

Eating or smoking weed

How cannabis affects your body depends on how often you use it and how you take it. Smoking cannabis and eating it produce different effects. When you eat it, THC takes a different route to your brain and takes longer to get there. The effects of smoking weed usually appear within minutes, because THC passes straight from your lungs into your bloodstream. Because the effects come on so quickly, smoking cannabis can seriously impair you at anything that needs your full attention, such as driving or operating machinery.

How long the effects of weed last depends on a few things: how you take it, how strong the cannabis is and your own metabolism.

In most cases:

• the effects of smoked cannabis start within minutes
• they peak during the first hour
• noticeable effects last 2 to 4 hours after smoking
• edibles can last 6 hours or longer

You may still notice reduced concentration or slower reaction times after the peak has passed.

Cannabis does not only act on your brain. The side effects of cannabis reach several systems at once, which is why the same amount can affect you and your friends completely differently.

Even a small amount can cause:

• increased heart rate
• bloodshot eyes
• dry mouth
• dizziness
• feeling or being sick
• tiredness
• poor coordination and balance
• increased appetite

Cannabis also changes how your brain works. It can slow your thinking and alter how you take in the world around you. That is why the effects can feel contradictory: pleasant one moment, uncomfortable the next.

You may notice:

• trouble remembering things
• reacting more slowly
• finding it harder to concentrate
• mood swings, up or down
• poorer judgement
• feeling more creative
• having more ideas than usual
• losing track of time
• changes in how things look, sound and taste
• talking more than usual
• laughing at almost anything

Cannabis can also trigger anxiety or panic, and what starts as a pleasant high can turn into a bad trip. It is more likely if the cannabis is very strong, or if you take too much. It can happen the first time you try it, and it can happen if you have been using for years. Cannabis can also bring on cannabis-induced psychosis, an intense and frightening state in which you lose touch with reality. The difference is that during a bad trip you still know that what you are seeing or hearing is not real.

The long-term effects of weed are usually linked to regular or prolonged use rather than occasional use. Regular use keeps your heart, lungs and nervous system under extra strain. That strain tends to become more noticeable over time, particularly once cannabis has become part of your daily routine.

Long-term effects of smoking weed

The side effects of smoking weed come from THC and from the smoke itself. Smoking cannabis exposes your lungs to many of the same harmful substances as cigarette smoke, even in a joint with no tobacco in it. If you smoke regularly, you may notice a cough, a sore throat and more phlegm, as well as wheezing or breathlessness. Over the years that can turn into a persistent cough, long-term irritation of your airways and reduced lung function. It also raises your risk of lung cancer.

Over time, cannabis can contribute to:

• reduced motivation
• ongoing memory problems
• finding it harder to concentrate
• mental health problems, if you are already vulnerable to them
• rising tolerance and, in time, marijuana addiction

These changes usually develop gradually, which makes them hard to recognise. You tend to notice them once they start affecting your health, your work or studies, and your relationships. For some people, cannabis never becomes more than an occasional thing. For others, use increases until stopping becomes hard, even when the damage is obvious. Recognising how cannabis is affecting your daily life is often the first step towards changing that pattern.

The side effects of quitting cannabis are different from the cannabis side effects you get while you are still using. As your body gets used to life without THC, you can get withdrawal symptoms for a while.

These commonly include:

• irritability
• anxiety
• trouble sleeping
• vivid dreams
• losing your appetite
• low or unpredictable mood
• cravings

Although these symptoms can feel uncomfortable, they usually ease as your brain and body settle again. How soon they start, and how long they last, varies a lot. Weed withdrawal symptoms tend to follow their own pattern over the first few weeks.

You may have noticed that weed is starting to affect your health, your relationships or your quality of life. Our team can help you work out why cannabis has become hard to manage.

At our rehabilitation centre in South Africa, treatment addresses the emotional, psychological and behavioural reasons behind a cannabis addiction. Throughout your stay, we provide group therapy, one-to-one sessions and evidence-based relapse prevention, so you can build healthier ways of coping.

Cannabis may be having a bigger impact on your life than you would like. Call us on +27 21 541 0643 and we can talk through the weed side effects you are noticing.